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Whangaparāoa conservation champion Liz Maire has been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours, becoming a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her contributions to conservation and education.
Maire received the honour for more than 35 years of work helping protect New Zealand’s natural environment and inspiring others to do the same.
However Maire says she nearly ignored the official notification.
“I thought it was a spam email, it just sat there,” she said. “But my husband said, ‘You should have received an email with honours in the title. Open it.’”
Her initial reaction was disbelief.
“My immediate thought was, I don’t think I’ve done enough. But my husband shared with me what the people applying had put together. It was quite peculiar to have it all written down. Usually you only get that when people are attending your funeral. It’s nice to be told it when you’re alive and can enjoy it.”
While grateful for the recognition, Maire hopes the award will draw attention to the importance of conservation.
“If all my award does is highlight conservation, then I’ve done my job. I like to be a doer and I don’t enjoy the limelight. I like to enthuse others and get them taking action and being out there in nature because we need the natural world as humans.”
Maire’s contribution spans decades. She worked with the Department of Conservation between 2004 and 2014, supported restoration projects on islands including Tiritiri Matangi and Hauturu, helped establish the Forest Bridge Trust, and developed environmental education programmes that reached schools across northern Auckland.
She also co-founded Women’s Outdoor Pursuits in 1989, encouraging women to develop confidence and skills in the outdoors, while volunteering with the Mountain Safety Council and Land Search and Rescue.
Much of her passion can be traced back to Tiritiri Matangi Island, where she first volunteered alongside her children in the 1980s.
“My lightbulb moment happened when I realised it was a farm that was going to become a forest,” she said. “The idea was that we could put all these amazing bits of wildlife back and they would thrive.”
She has witnessed that transformation firsthand.
“In 1989 it was still visibly a farm. The change has been incredible. Now it’s how New Zealand should be and could be. It’s ringing with birdsong. The dawn chorus is stunning.”
Maire, who has spent the past decade teaching on Tiritiri Matangi and volunteering at Shakespear Regional Park, says one of the greatest rewards has been seeing people inspired to protect nature in their own communities.
“When people love the natural world, then they want to protect it.”
Today, she says Tiritiri Matangi has become much more than a restoration project.
“It has a spirit, a wairua, that you can feel when you’re there. It is much loved and enjoyed.”
